Love/Hate Relationship with Food? Read This.

A lot of people have a lot of food-related anxieties. And we’re not just talking about people who have serious medical conditions relating to their diet. Many are simply anxious because they worry tremendously about what they’re putting into their bodies. While such anxieties and problems are usually linked to things like weight gain, heart disease, addictions, and even anorexia, most seem to simply have developed their worries because they’ve been reading a lot of worrying things about food and diets.

Of course, it’s not necessarily a bad thing to be worried about what you’re putting into your body. On the contrary, it can be excellent to have a certain vigilance and perhaps even mild paranoia about food! After all, the reputation that the commercial food industry has for deceiving customers and loading their foods with unnecessary additives is well-earned. Really, it could be argued that not enough people are worried about what they or their families are eating! Just look at the sales numbers of all those cereals that contain high-fructose corn syrup, or the amount of people who eat at places like McDonald’s at least once a week. If that doesn’t make it clear that a lot of people need to change their attitude towards food, then I’m not sure what will!

So it could be argued that a bit of anxiety and paranoia about food might actually work out best for people in the long run! But, of course, there are many out there who take it a little too far, and have now developed a sort of love/hate relationship with food. This can lead to bad food habits that may end up being just as bad for your health as succumbing to all those sugars, fats, and additives that the food industry is always offering to you on a plate, so to speak!

We’re going to take a quick look at some tips that everyone would be best to pay attention to. These tips will help you grow more of an awareness of what you’re eating, as well as help those who have lost faith in the industry gain a little more confidence.

Stay in the know

Again, it’s best to know precisely what’s going on in the food industry. That might mean reading some things you think you’d rather not know; things that you think will only make your worries worse. But if you don’t stay in the know, then you might be putting yourself in danger. If you don’t keep up-to-date with news about unsafe foods, then you might miss essential information about recalls such as the Ahi tuna recall. The trick is to ensure that all that unpleasant knowledge of the industry is used to help you make good purchasing decisions, as opposed to avoiding food purchases altogether!

So what kind of food does your body actually need? When you have this sort of information, it may become pretty clear very quickly just how lacking many commercial food products are. Getting to grips with what your body needs isn’t simply a case of making a list of the essentials; we should all know by now that we need vitamins, calcium, fats, carbs, etc. It’s more about knowing what you need and how much you need as it pertains specifically to your lifestyle. If you’re a fitness freak that exercises a lot, then you’re going to need protein and carbs. If you’re a vegan, then you need to take care that you’re getting the iron and B12 that meat and dairy often provide.

Cook for yourself

The best way to stop worrying so much about what you’re eating is to know precisely what it is that’s going in your food – and the best way to do that is to do your own cooking! A lot of people feel that they don’t have time, nor do they have the skill. If you’re not used to cooking, then yes – your first few meals could take some time, and they’re probably not going to impress any Michelin critics. But you’ll get faster and better. You may even end up having some fun! It’s a great way of getting to grips with food science – and it’s also a great way of impressing friends and family! Consider taking some lessons if you’re not that confident.

There are many reasons to stay away from drugs; one of the main reasons is so many of them are highly addictive. Bad foods aren’t like drugs just because you should have a mental note that tells you to stay away from them – it’s because a lot of unhealthy food is also addictive in a similar manner. Foods that are heavily processed tend to be rich in sugars and fats that basically leave you with a craving for more. You may have noticed that your own cravings tend to be for particularly unhealthy foods, even if you don’t eat them all that often. That’s what we’re talking about here! It’s best to remember this; eating enough of the stuff on a regular basis can begin a slippery slope that it’s hard to break away from!

A lot of people assume that eating healthy is really expensive. If you take a look at many of the products that the health food industry offers, then one could certainly be forgiven for thinking this. After all, a lot of the really unhealthy food out there tends to be really cheap. But people tend to greatly exaggerate just how expensive a healthy diet can be. Not only this, but they’re also looking at the issue in the wrong way.

One of the reasons these bad foods are so cheap is that they don’t really have a lot of nutrients. Nutrients are the barometer you should be using when trying to work out the value of something. When you see the nutrients that are present in fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as in all the other ingredients you use when cooking a healthy meal, it doesn’t seem all that expensive after all!

About Shanda Bauman

Shanda Bauman, Professional “Midwest Blogger and Life Style Expert,” has three very active children, from ages 12 and under. She’s a busy single mama, spending most of her days running after her kiddos in Grand Rapids, Michigan and is a lifestyle coach for Le-Vel promoting Thrive.
She is the proud owner and author of the Midwest Blog, Parents with Style where she shares about life with little ones, offers advice and encouragement, and writes her thoughts and opinions on some of the greatest products on the market – those that make family life easier and more exciting. Connect with her on social media too!

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Shanda Bauman, Professional “Midwest Blogger and Life Style Expert,” has three very active children, from ages 12 and under. She’s a busy single mama, spending most of her days running after her kiddos in Grand Rapids, Michigan and is a lifestyle coach for Le-Vel promoting Thrive.
She is the proud owner and author of the Midwest Blog, Parents with Style where she shares about life with little ones, offers advice and encouragement, and writes her thoughts and opinions on some of the greatest products on the market – those that make family life easier and more exciting. Connect with her on social media too! Read More…